YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN WAY!
Hello Chimacum Corner Community!
Everyone has their own image of a “food forest” in their mind: healthy trees underplanted with annuals and pollinators, alongside some rows of berries perhaps, maybe a few 50 foot veggie beds, and a row of nut trees as a wind-break for the space. Maybe it exists in the middle of a city (Beacon Food Forest) or on hundreds of acres of heartland (New Forest Farm). Perhaps the finest example we’ve seen of a Northwest food forest is the Bullock Permaculture Homestead on Orcas Island. Expertly pruned mature trees of unusual varieties completely blanket the hillside, dotted with small plots of annuals, ponds, marshes. Something we can all aspire to. So whether you are going as big as Mark Shepard or starting in your own backyard, we’ve got an entire forest of food waiting for you at the Corner Store. The Nursery is chock full of unusual, delightful varieties of berries, trees, and annuals. And the Produce Porch is welcoming more and more newcomers of spring favorites from the flagship locals. Read on to see what’s “in store” for you.
FOOD FOREST INGREDIENTS
The Nursery team has truly pulled out all the stops this year to offer Chimacum a deep range of food-furnishing plants and trees. True growers will feel like kids in a candy store in the front courtyard of the Nursery. The “food forest” program features a wide variety of Japanese and European Plums, plus unusual berries, like goji, honey, sea, and elder. Quince, medlar, paw paw, figs? Check, check, and more check. Pink currants, crabapples, hardy kiwi? Triple check. It’s actually kind of insane what you could put into your backyard orchard at the moment, all from one convenient hub at the crossroads. Now through the end of April ALL BARE ROOT FRUIT TREES ARE 25% OFF! Not to mention there is excellent, informative signage on all these crops, plus a full muster of talented, seasoned Nursery staff to answer your more niche questions. Reward your future self; start/augment your food forest this season!
POLLINATOR FRIENDS
If you give a mouse a food forest, he’s going to want pollinators to go with it. Fortunately for your mouse, the Corner Nursery has a great stock of Orchard Mason Bees from Knox Cellars out of Bellingham! The Knox Cellars website has a ton of great knowledge about Orchard Mason Bees in addition to their online shop. The bottom line on mason bees is this: they are orders of magnitude greater at pollinating than honeybees and they are active in colder, wetter conditions than honeybees, and are also native to our area. Investing in a “bee hotel” and learning the essential maintenance tasks involved in fostering a vibrant mason bee population will lead to a massive boost in productivity in your garden and orchard. Pick up some cocoons and get a jump start on your fall bounty!
ALL ABOUT SPROUTS
From the mightiest fruit tree to the tenderest sprout, it takes all crops to fill out a food forest. Representing the tender sprouts on the Produce Porch, we have two fine young farming operations, Foggy Hill Farm on Whidbey, and Space Twins Provisions from Beaver Valley. We regularly stock three crops from both farms: the spicy purple radish micros, the uber-healthy broccoli micros, and delicate, refreshing pea shoots (think the flavor of snap peas in tender greens form). Be on the lookout for limited drops of cilantro microgreens from Space Twins as well. Because of the fragile nature of microgreens, it is a huge advantage to source them directly from small local farms, shortening the supply chain and ensuring they are delivered promptly after harvest. Microgreens are a fun, flavorful garnish for a whole panoply of dishes!
While you might know Space Twins for their microgreens, they also offer a wide range of other market vegetables, which they showcase in their CSA program. Space is limited, but there are still a few spots available in the program. If you or someone you know might be interested in a CSA this season, we suggest you check out their website and click on the “Our CSA” tab. Aliens and earthlings alike are welcome!
ONE FISH TWO FISH KATFISH ROCKFISH
If you have a hankering for fish tacos on one of these intermittent sunny spring days, might we suggest procuring some extremely delectable rockfish filets from Kat Murphy of Katfish Salmon Company. Pair that with some Three Sisters Nixtamal tortillas, cilantro, lemon or lime, Jose’s Salsa, and a ripe Avo. Every day should be Taco Tuesday as far as we are concerned. Now is the time to support your local fisherpeople as they gear up for the season ahead! And if rockfish isn’t your thing, we’ve got a full lineup of fisheries products from Kat too!
ROLL IT ON OVER
We are not joking when we say that our Corner Kitchen makes A TON of spring rolls. Literally +2000lbs of spring rolls are made in house and enjoyed by the community. Far and away our most popular vegetarian to-go item, The Tofu Spring Roll with Peanut Sauce is a buoyant, refreshing lunch that is packed with healthy vegetables that are always local when in season. There’s a reason why we routinely sell out of spring rolls. The Corner Kitchen has mastered their craft.
CORNER KITCHEN IS HIRING TOO!
Got spring rolling skills? We’re calling all early risers! The Corner is looking for two team players to join the line on our Corner Kitchen crew as Kitchen Assistants. One position focuses on prepared breakfast treats, the other on deli-lunchables like sandwiches, wraps, and salads. We are looking for folks who are passionate about fresh, local ingredients and preparing food for the community with love, attention, and care.
We also have a spot to fill in the Kitchen for a seasonal dishwasher/food runner position. This is a great way to get some experience working in a commercial kitchen and also stocking prepared food for retail. Some light driving is required to ferry goods from the kitchen space at Finnriver over to the store across Rhody Drive. Help us spread the word in the community to find some stellar souls to join the rodeo at the Corner!
HYDRATION STATION
While you’re busy planting out your food forest, it’s important to keep cool. Fortunately the grocery department has put together a great deal on coconut water from C20 for y’all. 2 bucks a can, or 20 bucks a case, the choice is yours. Whether you like it OG, with pulp, or with ginger/lime/turmeric, snag some tall cans on your next trip to the corner and savor a tasty bevvie at sundown while you admire your hard-earned handiwork.
PLEASE USE CHIMACUM ROAD ENTRANCE DURING DIGGING
Believe it or not, the entire store (retail and back of house) is powered by a single 200 amp / 3 phase panel, which has reached max capacity. In order to upgrade our panel and increase our amps, a larger sized conduit is needed and new lines pulled from the transformer along Chimacum Road. This round of work will be for the installation of conduit only, but will be literally be laying the groundwork for the electrical upgrades to happen over the following weeks. Thank you for your patience during this work! Half of the parking lot will be blocked off and we are asking customers to please use the Chimacum Road entrance during that time.
Trenching will begin Mon, April 14th
Conduit to be installed Tue, April 15th
Backfill to happen Wed, April 16th
